WATCH: Indiana Fever bring Caitlin Clark’s Iowa graduation ceremony to practice led by Aaliyah Boston

 

Caitlin Clark gets a surprise graduation celebration from her Fever teammatesCaitlin Clark gets a surprise graduation celebration from her Fever teammates

Over the past few years, Caitlin Clark has risen to prominence as one of the premier women’s basketball players globally while being a student-athlete for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend her graduation after completing four years with the program.

However, her new teammates with the Indiana Fever had a surprise in store for her. Since Caitlin Clark couldn’t attend her Iowa graduation due to her busy WNBA schedule, her Fever teammates organized a graduation celebration for her. The Fever shared the heartwarming video of the event on social media:

Aaliyah Boston took the lead in the celebration and even presented Clark with a makeshift “Certificate of Graduation.”

Clark and the Fever recently concluded their preseason and are preparing for the start of the WNBA regular season against the Connecticut Sun. Their first game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 14, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville.

The Fever lost their first preseason game to the Dallas Wings, 79-76. Clark had an impressive debut, scoring 21 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-13 from beyond the arc, and adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

In their second preseason game, Clark led Indiana to an 83-80 victory over the Atlanta Dream. She nearly recorded a triple-double, with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Overall, in the two WNBA preseason games, Clark averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.

Looking at Caitlin Clark’s Iowa journey

Clark played for Iowa for four years. She joined the program in 2020-21, one year after the NCAA basketball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her four years as a marketing major, Clark made a significant impact in women’s basketball and became one of the top names in women’s sports.

During her freshman year, Clark quickly adapted to the collegiate level, starting in all 30 games for Iowa and averaging 26.6 points while shooting 47.2% from the field. As a rookie, Clark led Division I in scoring and ranked second in assists and 3-pointers per game.

In her senior season, Clark averaged a dominant 31.6 points, 8.9 assists and 7.4 rebounds per game, leading Division I in scoring and assists.

Caitlin Clark capped her collegiate career with Iowa with achievements like having the most career points (3,951) and 3-pointers (548), the second-most triple-doubles (17) and the third-most assists (1,144) in Division I history.

Iowa retired her jersey number 22, making her the third player in program history to receive this honor. On April 15, 2024, Caitlin Clark was selected as the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever.